© Ágnes utasi, Ádám páthy, péter hári, 2006mek.oszk.hu/03700/03736/03736.pdfsocial network,...

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© Ágnes Utasi, Ádám Páthy, Péter Hári, 2006

All rights reserved

Series editor:

Lenke Szőgyi

Keywords:

(Social solidarity and integration in Hungary: Aspects of confidential relationships)

social network, social solidarity, social integration, friendships, confidentialrelationships, trust, relationship deprivation

(International trends of relationships in the last fifteen years)

social network, international trends, married, divorced, single, changes in householdstructure, contacts within the family members, friendships, microsocial solidarity

ISBN 963 7372 28 8 (PDF)

ISSN 1788-1064

Published by the Political Science Institute

of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

1014 Budapest, Országház u. 30.

Responsible for publishing: the Director of IPS HAS

Cover design and layout: Mariann Kovács

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CONTENTS

Ágnes Utasi:Social solidarity and integration in Hungary: Aspects of confidential relationships

The Realignment of Interpersonal Relations in the Emerging Market EconomyThe Decrease of Trust Towards ‘Others’ and the Growing Importance of ConfidentialStrong RelationshipsFriendship: a chosen confidential relationship‘Emotional’ and ‘instrumental’ relationshipsInequalities of social class in confidential friendshipsThe dominant life-condition parameter shaping confidential friendshipsSocial integration and strong, confidential relationshipsRelationship deprivation and lack of integrationImprovement in the probabilities of integration through the virtual ties of associations,organizations and religionBibliography:

Ágnes Utasi - Ádám Páthy - Péter Hári:International trends of relationships in the last fifteen years

Important parameters of the sampleChanges in the structure of family statusChanges in the structure of householdsContact within the familyNon-personal contactFriendshipsMicrosocial solidarity and assistanceConclusionReference list

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Ágnes Utasi

Social solidarity and integration in Hungary:Aspects of confidential relationships

A growing number of people use the Internet on regular basis and many of them have virtualfriends and some of them have even found real friends thanks to the web. Technicaladvances like the emergence of the web, the ever growing popularity of telephones, etc.might contribute to strengthening relationships but are no substitutes for direct humancontact. An international survey conducted fifteen years ago on the relationship-networks ofseven countries showed that as regards keeping contact with parents and friends on the phoneHungary was lagging far behind the other six countries in the survey (ISSP, TÁRKI, 1986,N=10 700). In the aforementioned period only 10-12% of the population had a telephone linein Hungary. However the extent of respondents regularly keeping in touch with their parents,that is visiting them, was significantly higher than in countries better equipped in terms oftelecommunication (Utasi, 1991).

Social integration is maintained first and foremost through real relationships, especiallythrough strong ties represented by regular visits and stays. A recent survey has providedfurther evidence for this claim. In the survey respondents had fifteen different optionsrepresenting factors that help social integration, their task was to pick the one they consideredthe most effective. The results showed that illness or being disabled are the most importantreasons for isolation, lack of integration. According to the survey people consider ‘to havefriends’ (89.2%) and ‘to have family and children’ (81.0%) the most important conditions ofavoiding isolation. (EURÓPA 2000, BKE, Házt. Kut. Csop. N=1500) This shows that anoverwhelming majority of the respondents considered real confidential strongrelationships essential. While altruism and selflessness are fundamental conditions of non-virtual relationships, these values are suppressed by the virulent tendencies of individua-lization, financial growth, the never-ceasing competition for ‘progress’ on the social ladder,the meritocratic value-orientation urging ever-increasing performance.

Quality of life surveys dating from the 1960s and 1970s had already established that humanrelationships are essential constituents of ‘well-being’, happiness and satisfaction. At the sametime both sociologists and demographers had noticed changes in the workings of relationships(Allardt, E.,1975). Most hit by changes corresponding to the tendency of individualization andthe spreading of civilization were partnerships. The need for independence, for autonomy wason the rise and consequently a growing number of people wanted to lead a life adapted toindividual needs and self-fulfillment. The need for self-fulfillment together with growingfinancial autonomy and independence stemming from civilizatory welfare disentangles firstthe extra-familiar ties which rely on self-imposed altruism and ‘piety’. Most effected by thisincreased need for self-fulfillment is the longevity of partnerships. The number of marriagesending in divorce, the number of non-married couples living together and the age of peoplegetting married have all increased. (Cseh-Szombathy L.,1994, Somlai, P., 1999, Tóth O., 1994Pongrácz T.-né, 1994 S. Molnár E.,1997 Utasi Á.,1999, Szücs Z.,1999)

The international relationship-survey conducted before the political changes (in the 1980s)showed that in Hungary strong family-relation ties have contributed to making a living andreaching financial security mainly by means of instrumental motivation. Cooperation within

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the family was intensive. Workplace and neighborhood acquaintances were also sustainedmainly by instrumental motivation. On the other hand the number of respondents pickingfriends and especially close friends from the options was very low. To sum up, in the 1980ssocial solidarity and especially instrumental assistance was very well-sustained due to thenetwork of strong relationships whereas emotional and expressive assistance was lagging farbehind. (Angelusz-Tardos, 1988, Utasi, 1990, 1991).

The Realignment of Interpersonal Relations in the Emerging Market Economy

Following the political changes the rapidly growing prosperity of the higher ranking,financially better equipped social strata and the tendency for individualization together withthe desire to get rich inevitably led to a loosening of relations considered ‘uneconomic’ andalso to the upgrading of financially valuable relations. In the meantime as a reaction to thegrowing social financial inequalities there has been an intensification of family ties amongthose lacking resources.

The new emphasis on democracy, freedom and individual choice was reflected in the growingsignificance of values such as autonomy, independence and respect for others’ individuality.Whereas the importance of respect for differences and the appreciation of individual perfor-mance was on the rise, there was a corresponding ebb of solidarity towards people laggingbehind in this new wealth-oriented society. The higher one gets on the social ladder, thewealthier, the more competitive he is with a higher probability of ‘meritocratic success’, theless he inclines to accept that the state should support those at the bottom end of the financialspectrum (e.g. people out of job or students coming from low-income families) (Utasi, 2000).Meanwhile the trust in individual effort and achievement has intensified.

In the new democratic political system criticism against the ‘regime’, the government andstate representatives is no longer prosecuted. Fear of retaliation and its companion servileattitude towards power has declined. As a side-effect of this process the prestige of stateauthorities had eroded. Most spectacularly so in the case of offices and authoritiesrepresenting political ‘self-government’ and also for the policy-making elite. Loyalty and trusttowards them sharply declines. The majority of Hungarians lost trust in their government andthe Parliament.

Unfortunately the growing respect for individual rights and the rule of law in the newdemocracy had encouraged criminal wrong-doing. Vandalism in the streets following politicaland sport events, causing damage in public places had become frequent. Disorderliness andcrime in general is on the rise. As a counter-step the rich has moved from cities to suburbandistricts and nearby villages. The most likely sights at weekends in city centers, apart fromtourists, are homeless people roving the streets with large plastic bags containing all theirbelongings and a few well-dressed people doing their best to ignore this unpleasant sight.

The past ten years had seen the birth and proliferation of ‘security’ enterprises guarding theproperties and belongings of the ‘privileged’. Rented flats had given away to private flats andas these ‘private owners’ can’t afford to employ ‘security men’ and receptionist there has beena boom on the market of locks, steel bars and alarm-systems all unmistakable signs of thegrowing ‘mistrust towards others’ that coexists with the aforementioned ‘respect for others’.These devices symbolize the fear of owners, the decline of trust towards ‘others’. Thegrowing untidiness in public places further supports the feeling of lack of security,intensifies the isolation of individuals thus undermining and damaging the cohesion ofsociety and correspondingly the extent of trust towards ‘others’.

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The nuclearization of families signals the decline of socially integrative strong relation-ships. Less and less people feel obliged to sustain broken marriages. The growing need forautonomy transforms the traditional institutions of marriage and family. People are morelikely to follow their individual judgments and thus ending imperfect relations to give way tonew relations. Divorce has always been an accepted reality and the extent of marriages endingin divorce was high but recently there is a new tendency of couples living together withoutgetting married and consequently an increase in the number of children born out of maritalties (though some of these couples get married after their child is born) (Szücs Z., 1999). Thegrowing number of couples living in permanent relationships without being married and thepostponement of marriage shows a reluctance to enter into lifelong, i.e. ‘eternal’ bonds inpreference of partnerships demanding a lower level of altruism and sharing.

The Decrease of Trust Towards ‘Others’ and the Growing Importance of ConfidentialStrong Relationships

Contrary to the above described tendencies it would be a mistake to assume that in post-communist Hungary disorderliness, crime, untidiness, lack of trust and the decrease of strongrelationships are more pressing problems than in the established democracies of the West.International surveys have shown that in modern democratic societies based on economicrationality the process of individualization led to similar changes over the past decade with theexception a few Asian democracies (Fukuyama, 2000). It remains to be seen whether thechanges induced by the democratic and economic changes in Hungary should be regarded aspart of this general tendency or specific to Hungary and if so in what degree.

As we have indicated traditional relationships 15 years ago were still based on trust and theiroperation was intense and wide in its scope. The trust that supported economic corporationreached beyond the circle of relatives and friends to that of colleagues and neighbours (Utasi,1988, Sik E., 1988). However this trust has gradually eroded and its scope is now limited to amuch smaller circle - matters of confidence are increasingly kept and discussed within thecloser circle of the family which even excludes further relatives (Utasi, 1994). Many inter-preted these changes as a consequence of the anti-religious policy of the Communist regimethat undermined all tradition and the traditional values of communities. While not denyingthat traditional social values are losing ground, it is to be pointed out that the ebb of trust andthe corresponding weakening of social integration should be explained in a wider context ofcontributing factors. The findings of empirical surveys show that social integration based ontraditional community values was still largely operational in the days of Communism. It wasnot before the introduction of market economy that instrumental cooperation and ‘naive piety’that characterizes traditional communities were radically pushed in the background (Weber,M., 1982), whereas the need for the meritocratic appreciation of performance, individualambitions and achievements has intensified. One of the main reasons for these changes wasthe acceptance of the radical shift towards social inequalities by the elite and its endorsementby labeling it a ‘transient’ phenomenon that is a necessary prerequisite of the ‘financialstrengthening of the middle-classes’. The difference in average wages between the upper 10%and the bottom 10% was 380% in 1982, this inequality rose to 730% in 1994 which representsa doubling of the difference (Andorka, R., 1996, Ferge, Zs., 2000). By adopting this practicethe governments gave priority to the further gain in prosperity of the well-to-do and letting thecohesion and integration of the majority fall, thus further increasing the inequalities.

The aim of the present study is to unravel the ways in which the mentioned economic andpolitical changes effected the instrumentally properly operating strong human relationships

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and mutual trust. The foci of our investigation are the analysis of the characteristics of trustand specifically of confidential relationships within the nuclear family and outside thefamily: friendship ties.

Following the political changes in Hungary the lack of resources (Dahrendorf, 1990) meantthat relationships confidential and strong enough to provide financial backing and capital wereessential to start new businesses. Sociological studies had shown that this need is most likelyto be satisfied from within the family, just as tradition would dictate. The future of such newbusinesses being highly uncertain, thus their financial support being highly hazardous, theycould only rely on family members as sources of capital. Another consideration that helpedinter-family financing was the idea that the capital could be repaid for the next generation aswell. Accordingly most of the small businesses, the so-called forced entrepreneurs started offwith help from within the family that could take the form either of financial support orproviding labor. (Lengyel Gy. 1995) The acquisition of privatized property and getting thenecessary financing was often made possible by confidential information passed on by friendsthus capitalizing on relationships. (Utasi, 1994)

This is of course not something peculiar to Hungary. Many companies and enterprises, evensome multinational giants all around the world are run by families or their influence ismaintained by having members of the family on the board, so as to protect the familiesinterests. The rationality and practice of collaboration within the family to assist enterpriseshas strengthened in Hungary since the fall of Communism. One unique aspect of this processwas that while previously the regrouping of resources stemming from connection capital couldresult only in relatively low profit because of the regulations limiting private profit, in post-communist Hungary the same connection capital by helping the acquisition of privatizedproperty or to start a new business yielded extremely high profit ratios. The intensivecooperation and confidential relationship between members of the nuclear family and friendsthus remained strong under the changed conditions but its content and result had significantlyaltered in the various strata yielding strongly diverging profits.

Traditional relationships operated mainly through instrumental motivation in the past as well.Providing help in building a home, interchange of products to lower costs and mutual labor-assistance was more typical than emotional ties. The sudden emergence of unemploymentamong not only the unqualified but also the well-qualified strengthened the cooperation andmutual assistance within the families and intensified the co-reliance and self-protection amongconfidential friends. Being jobless was something that the family considered a shame and triedto keep secret. This emotion reduced the ties outside the circle of the confidants. (Utasi, 1994)

The period following the political changes saw the intensification of confidential relationshipsand friendships that were able to provide resources all along the social spectrum. Friendshipespecially for those with a higher status could bring access to resources simply because it isthe people belonging to the upper strata of society who have friends. (Utasi, 1990, AngeluszR.-Tardos R., 1988, Albert F.-David B., 1988).

Members of the new governments tended to appoint friends for confidential positions. Thecircle of those ‘in power’ was recruited from the circle of confidential friends, relatives, ex-classmates (Mills, C. W., 1951, Weber, M., 1987). Party leaders also tended to surroundthemselves with close friends and ex-schoolmates. In local communities, small or mediumsized towns people of higher status could invariably find a relative or friend who couldprovide useful information if need be. ‘Influential and confidential friendships and affinities’are also extremely effective in a small country like Hungary (Utasi, Á.-A. Gergely, A-Becske-házi, A., 1996).

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The discussed changes had limited the scope of trust to the circle of close agnates and friends.A survey made in 2000 showed that regular contact within the nuclear family remained asintensive as it was before the political changes. Almost all the respondents would visit theirparents at least once a month, and only 2.8% falls below this frequency. The contact withchildren is similarly intense, but there is a slight shift: 5.5% of the respondents sees his/herchildren with lower frequency than once a month.

Since the earlier survey telephone has become the general means of communication. 62.4 %of the respondents makes a phone call to his/her parents at least once a month. The samefigure for parents talking to their children on the phone is 72.8%. (Európa, 2000, BKEN=1500) In 1986 the figure for people staying in phone contact with their parents was just afew percent. Our previous studies have indicated that in Hungary the role of emotion in familyrelationships is less significant than that of instrumental motivation. However regardless ofthe kind of motivation operating in connecting people within the nuclear family, data showsthat ties between relatives is still very strong and trust is undiminished.

A survey conducted last year investigated the intensity of trust and also its direction, i.e. whothe respondents put their trust in. There was a scale indicating 4 levels of trust. Full trust wasindicated by assigning number 4 to the given category, while number 1 would indicate notrust. Categories to be evaluated were: the government, political parties, NATO, the Parlia-ment, God, the respondent himself and his family. (Demokrácia, MTA PTI, 2000, Simon)

According to the survey people trust first and foremost themselves with an average value of3.7. Family-members, relatives came second: 3.6. These figures indicate almost unconditionaltrust. However there is a well-marked inconsistency in the value-structure of the respondents:the first of the top two categories indicates that one can rely only on oneself and this reflectsan individualistic value-priority. The category coming second contradicts our previousconclusion as it indicates the endorsement of traditional value-priorities based on family-tiesand kinship. The rest of the evaluated categories - including neighbors - received a far lessfavorable index ranging 1.5-2.6.

68.3 % of the respondents unconditionally trust their family and relatives, while only 7% evaluatedthe government similarly. (Unfortunately ‘friends’ was not included in the categories, but we havegrounds to suppose that they would have received high marks, close to that of relatives.)

Trust in governments has sharply dropped as it was demonstrated by surveys conducted in theU.S. As a tendency policymakers seem to have lost public trust in liberal democracies. In 1958in the U.S. less than a quarter (23%) of all respondents claimed that they would never orhardly ever trust their government, four decades later the same figure had tripled (1995: 71%-85%) (Fukuyama, 2000). At the present the number of people considering their governmentuntrustworthy or almost completely untrustworthy is somewhat lower in Hungary (2000:60.7%) (Demokrácia, MTA PTI, 2000).

Indices indicating mistrust are similarly high for categories designating people outside thecloser circle of confidants, i.e. ‘others’ or ‘people in general’. The Hungarian survey showsthat 2 out of 3 respondents (68%) thought that one cannot trust or hardly ever others(Demokrácia, MTA PTI, 2000). The figures indicating mistrust towards ‘others’, ‘aliens’ issomewhat higher in Hungary than in the U.S. However it is worth noticing that the surveydating from 1997 showed a progressive loss of confidence in ‘others’ in the U.S. Threedecades earlier the number of respondents saying that “one can trust or almost always trust”people in general was ten percent higher than the number of those saying “one cannot trust”

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others. By the second half of the 90s tables were turned and the majority of people would saythat “one cannot or hardly ever trust others” (60%) (Fukuyama, 2000).

Friendship: a chosen confidential relationship

The trust in friends is similar in quality to the unconditional trust in family-members andrelatives. We believe that among confidential relationships the most significant one, next tothe family-kinship relationships, is friendship. Naturally, having confidential friends is not ascommon as having relatives one can rely on. Friendship is a chosen relationship that maygenerate solidarity and mutual resources without a formalized framework and bring socialintegration. It can operate successfully without legal or institutional regulations. Differentschools consider different motivations to be dominant in forming friendships, but most wouldagree that it is not one but a set of motivations that shape friendships. Some claim thatmutually attractive individual characteristics, attitudes are the main factors. Others wouldargue that friendships emerge on an emotional basis, that is the attraction is driven byemotion. Most experts would consider similarities in structural and cultural basics to be thedetermining factor is generating friendships. (Adams, B. 1979)

In our opinion friendships are primarily determined by social and structural factors, but emotion asa decisive relational motivation is essential in developing friendships. Nevertheless among thecontributing and sustaining factors to this relationship - friendship not being different in this respectfrom all other human relationships - aim, value, tradition and emotion can all be present (Weber,M., 1987), but certainly the various motivations will have a different weight in contributing tofriendships developing between individuals with different backgrounds. Similarity,homogeneity and endogamy is among the defining characteristics of friendships. (Laumann,E.O. 1973) (In 1998 Lawer’s survey: 83.9 % of first friends of lawyers, 86.2 % of secondfriends have a university degree, 74.8 % of their spouses have a university degree).

Compared with bygone ages today’s people have a greater freedom in choosing friends. Ourancestors were limited in their choices by rigid boundaries between estates formulated on thebasis of birth. Despite the increased freedom the way in which friends are chosen ischaracterized by cultural and status homogeneity much like in the case of spouses. Whyhomogeneity has such a strong effect on choosing friends is not a question that could easily beanswered. Most probably the answer lies in the fact that making one’s choice has bothaffective and cognitive components: the identical structural spot is the dominant field of theselection, this is where attraction, sympathy takes root, and at the same time where thecognitive process of getting to know the chosen person extensively takes place together withthe more or less rational mapping of his social merits. As a result of the free choice of thosebefriending each other, the similar social values facilitate the trouble-free interchange ofconnections. (We presume that friendship and marriage are brought about by a similarcognitive force, but the affection involved certainly differs.)

Homogeneity prevails primarily among people having similar status and prestige. Arguablyhomogeneity in finding friends is primarily the result of the prevalence of the prestige-principle. Following and accepting Weber’s theory on the stratification by birth and lifestyle,we claim that men of similar status prefer similar means of living, they choose their friends,spouses and ‘commensals’ from similar circles (commensalism) (Weber, M. 1987). Followingthe prestige-principle, we suppose that friends predominantly occupy a similar position in thesocial hierarchy.

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The most important characteristic of confidential relationships and thus of friendships fromthe viewpoint of social integration is solidarity. Solidarity towards others could be expressedby providing material goods or labor, but also by providing symbolic resources. This lastcategory would involve useful information, mediation, intercession, emotional support, jointvisits of public events or spending time together. The resources provided to each other mighttransform into other types of capital or wealth, and eventually they might contribute to theintegration of society. (Wellman, B. 1990, Bourdieue, P. 1986, 1980).

In our present study we define friendships as chosen confidential relationships with emotionalties, where the partners involved help each other by conveying solidarity by activating emotio-nal resources in certain situations. We also presume that many instrumental relationships mayover a period of cooperation transform and deepen into friendship bonds. In our previousstudies we made a distinction between ‘instrumental friendship’ and ‘emotional friendship’ bysaying that the former lacked emotional assistance. Friendship is a relationship predominant-ly based on emotionally motivated selection, it involves mutual solidarity and is usuallycharacterized by some kind of homogeneity.

‘Emotional’ and ‘instrumental’ relationships

The international survey conducted in 1986 showed that unlike in other countries of thesurvey the majority of friendships in Hungary derives from workplace relationships. (InHungary 53.6% of friendships develops between fellow-workers, while the correspondingfigure in other countries varied between 5-32%.) In ‘instrumental friendships’ based onworking together emotion is of lesser importance. There is no denying that all relationshipsare motivated to some degree by emotions, but dominantly ‘instrumental friendships’ oftenend with the ceasing of cooperation (change of job, termination of a project, completion ofbuilding a house), while friendships hailing from school-days can survive decade-longintervals with no common activity.

According to the aforementioned fifteen-year-old survey 2 out of 3 Hungarians (64.4%)claimed to have a friend, that is being party to an ‘instrumental’ and/or ‘emotional’ friend-ship (Utasi, 1990). However 1 out of 3 Hungarian respondents claimed to have no friends atall and this was the highest corresponding figure in this international survey (35.6%).1

As the above definition shows we consider similar structural position and emotional moti-vation as binding element crucial in forming friendships. The categorization of friendships as‘instrumental’ or ‘emotional’ was based on the presence or lack of the emotional motivation.

In our study a friendship was considered ‘emotional’ if the respondents claimed to share theirgrief with their friend (at least as second person) caused by some personal problems likebeing upset, depressed, having had a fall-out with their partner/spouse, etc. 1 out of 2 friend-ships in Hungary are emotional according to the survey, that is 1 out of 2 respondents wouldshare their emotional problems with their friend. With the rest of the friendships instrumentalmotivation is the dominant cohesive factor. Overall one can conclude that among Hungarians1 out of 3 people would confide in someone about their emotional troubles in cases of crisis,that is 1 out of 3 Hungarian respondents have an ‘emotional friend’. (Utasi, 1990)

1 The survey showed that in Austria and West-Germany 1 out of 4 or 1 out of 5 people did not have

friends (24.9% and 21.5%), the same figure for Italy and England was 1 out of 10 (14.7% and13.7%), in Australia and the U.S. it was even lower: 5-6%.

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Inequalities of social class in confidential friendships

The nationwide representative survey conducted in 2000 offered better indicators to exploreextra-familiar confidential relationships with emotional ties, that is friendships (Európa 2000,BKE, Házt. Kut. Csop. N=1500). The survey defined friend as a person the respondent “feelsvery close to and can confide in about important personal matters, and is not a spouse/partner orfamily-member”. Data shows that almost 1 out of 2 people (48.9%) claimed to havesuch ‘intimate’ friend, that is a friend able to provide ‘emotional resources’ in our termi-nology. (In case we could consider the data gathered by different methods in 1986 relevant,we could register a 10% increase in the number of ‘emotional’ friendships between 1986 and2000.)

On considering the various classes and strata of society in terms of the unequal life conditionsone could conclude that among people living under better conditions the ratio of peoplehaving friends is higher. This is especially true when we limit the scope of investigation tofriends able to provide emotional assistance, understanding and solidarity.

As a result of the social inequality and discrimination based on biological differences betweenthe sexes the number of friends providing emotional solidarity is somewhat lower amongwomen (47.4%) than men (50.2%). Comparing friendships of the two sexes internationalsurveys had shown that more men (especially middle-aged men) have friends than women(Fischer-Oliker, 1983). A possible explanation is that more men have jobs outside the homethan women and their progress in the company hierarchy is also faster than that of women andboth factors increase the chances of making friends. In the light of this women obviously havea lower chance of meeting ‘potential’ friends.

However research in Great Britain brought opposite results: there the number of womenjoining clubs, associations and charities was higher than that of men (Wellman, B., 1992), andso the number of friendships deriving from these communities was higher among women thanmen. Similar Hungarian surveys show that men’s friendships clearly outnumber that ofwomen even in this respect.

Social inequality based on biological differences could be noticed between different age-groups as well. Among people younger than 29, 3 out of 4 have an extra-familiar confidentialrelationship (73.0%), while among people over 70 only 1 out of 3 has a friend (31.5%).Despite the large differences between the two extremes of age-groups, comparison withprevious surveys shows a significant decrease in the extent of the difference. In the 1986survey the youngest generation claiming to have an emotional friend outnumbered the oldestage-group 5 times, the 2000 survey showed a halving of this difference with a mere 2.5multiplier. The present inequality index in Hungary between the two extremes of the age-groups is now identical with that of the more developed western countries in 1986 (Utasi,1990). It remains to be investigated whether the younger and the older generations wouldshow a similar convergence in other fields of life-style.

The development of friendships is significantly effected by life-cycle effects which are oftenaccompanied by other kinds of biological inequalities. The friendships generally typical inschool-years show a significant drop after marriage and then there is a similar watershed atretirement age (Allan, G., 1979, Utasi, 1990). The result of the latest survey also confirms thistrend of following life-cycles. Obviously the life-cycle effect and the age effect usually addsup to form an important determinant in the development of friendships. Some experts havenoticed that friendships in old age are often characterized by multiplicity meaning a largerextent of friends who unify several different relationship contents and functions (Weiss-

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Lowenthal, 1975). A likely explanation is that the inevitably decreasing number of friends inold age makes it necessary for friendships to fulfill several functions at the same time. Thefields of activity that were previously divided into several different relationship contents anddistributed between several individuals thus show an inevitable concentration by aging. As theactual range of activity narrows with old age the extent of elderly people naming theirneighbours as their friends increases.

Following the labor-division status-hierarchy first we investigated the ratio of respondentshaving confidential friends among the different labor-division groups of the actives. Confirm-ing our hypothesis we found the number of people having confidential friends was the highestamong company leaders (72%) and intellectuals (69.2%) and the lowest among the differentgroups of workers (51.4-52.8%).

Differences also show up according to the participation on the labor market: a largerpercentage of full-time employees claimed to have confidential friends (57%) than peopleemployed in part-time jobs (53%). People running their own businesses show a higher indexthan employees (60%) and this is perfectly understandable considering the fact that they needto have confidential relationships and to be present continuously on the labor market toachieve success.

People active in labor-division have a higher chance of making friends outside the family,while conversely people not present on the labor market show a much lower index: in thecase of homemakers and dowagers only 1 out of 3 (30.8-31.3%) have intimate friends, but thesituation of young mothers receiving motherhood benefit and staying home to look after theirchildren is even more worrying - only 1 out of 6 claimed to have someone outside the familythey could confide in (16.7%). People outside the labor market and with low chances ofhaving confidential relationships are almost exclusively women. This shows that the dis-advantages deriving from inequalities based on gender or on the unfavorable labor-divisionposition add up to determine the life conditions of these groups. The unfavorable positions inthe two hierarchies get interconnected intensifying the negative effects and so increase thechances of isolation and segregation. The lack of intimate relations might eventually lead tothe deterioration of subjective life quality.

As one grows older and especially after retirement social prestige declines in the over-whelming majority of cases. This then results in a decrease of the number of relations andcorrespondingly confidential friendships. This phenomenon of social devaluation derivingfrom different inequality dimensions is reflected in the low ratio of friendships amongpensioners: disability-pensioners have the lowest hopes of finding friends (34.1%), prepensio-ners have somewhat better chances (36.4%) and finally pensioners, i.e. employees previouslyfully integrated into the labor market have the best chance within this group (39.1%). But thedifferences are relatively small. Being a pensioner and of old age definitely reduces thechances of having friends.

The inequality cross-sections investigated so far had all shown that the higher social statussomeone has the less disadvantages he will have to put up with in the life conditiondimensions characterized by inequalities and the more likely he will find a friend who willunderstand his problems and provide solidarity. This was also confirmed by the analysis of thecross-section showing cultural differences symbolized with the levels of qualification.

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In the category of people not completing their primary school studies only 1 out of 4 has anintimate friend (25.4%). In this category there is an overlapping intensification of the effectsof the disadvantages of elderly age and low labor-division status. The index for peoplecompleting their primary school studies is markedly better: 1 out of 3 claimed to have a closefriend (38.3%). The category of people with completed secondary school studies showsanother significant extension: for those graduating from technical school the figure is 52%,while for those graduating from grammar school the figure is 55.8%.

The hypothesis that higher educational levels effectively safeguard from social disadvantagesis further supported by the fact that among people with a college or university degree 2 out of3 does have close friends (64.6%). The inequality between college and university graduationin terms of social capital and progress in the social hierarchy is reflected by the fact thatpeople with a university degree - the ones who are the most likely to reach top positions andthus command power, prestige and wide-ranging network of relationships - have a signifi-cantly higher chance of having confidential friends (70.7%) than those with a college degree(61.5%).

We saw earlier that men in general have a higher chance of having confidential relationshipsthan women. But once we shift the focus of investigation to levels of education, we find thatat those higher levels where women receive significant skill, expertise and this way commandadequate competence and what is even more important become financially independent, theytend to have a better index of having close friends. In the category of people with a degreewomen have a slightly better index (in the case of college degree, this index is 59% for menand 63% for women). There is a similar tendency in the case of high-school graduates, that iswomen being slightly better off in terms of having close friends. It seems that well-qualifiedwomen need to support their social capital by strengthening their friendships more intenselythan men in order to protect their relatively rare and fragile privileged position. The higherextent of friendships among qualified women relative to men could be explained by the needto compensate for the sexual discrimination in society.

Inequalities effect one’s self-respect and consciousness, and so they effect life conditions andthe selection of friends. The existence or lack of friends has repercussions on self-evaluation,satisfaction, happiness and eventually on subjective quality of life (Allardt, E., 1998). Peoplewho classify themselves as belonging to the lower strata of society in terms of lifestyle, the‘self-depreciators’ have a 50% lower index of having friends (37.8) than those who evaluatetheir life conditions more favorably and put themselves higher in the social hierarchy (i.e.upper-middle class) (64.9%).

The existence or lack of friends has a large impact on one’s self-satisfaction, and satisfactionis the single most important factor in determining subjective quality of life, that is individualhappiness. Those who have confidential friends, are, to various extents, more satisfied withtheir life-standards (corr.102**), health (corr..209**), financial conditions (.112**), thanthose who have no friends. The causality-chain makes it difficult to identify clearly which ismore important: the extent of satisfaction or the lack or existence of friends. Nevertheless it ismore likely that the higher index of having friends among people being happier with theircondition is the effect and the cause is their favorable condition of life. Those living underbetter condition are the ones who are ‘better equipped with resources’ and so are in a betterexchange position on the market of social capital, so his chances are higher of findingconfidential friends and in this way feeling more satisfied, happier.

14

The more optimistic outlook of those having friends is also a sign of more favorable life-conditions. Among people describing themselves as ‘very happy’ or ‘happy’ the number ofthose having confidential friends is significantly higher (61.3% and 51.8%) than among thosedescribing themselves ‘rather unhappy’ or ‘unhappy’ (39.3% and 33.3%)

Data unambiguously proves the correspondence and interaction between confidentialfriendship and subjective life quality. We also know that people having friends are more likelyto be members of social groups, classes that indicate a favorable position, that is a lowerexposure to disadvantages and needs in the context of social inequalities. (Utasi, 2001) So lifeconditions have a dominant impact on the development of confidential friendships, and as aconsequence on the extent of satisfaction and happiness that indicates subjective life quality.The existence of a confidential friend is usually an effect and it is the outcome of the relativelyfavorable position in the different dimensions of life conditions within inequality structure ofsociety. Friendship ties develop and survive more easily where the traffic of solidarity-resources is two-way, where special interests (also) increase the viability of the contact, wherethere is a chance of long-term return of confidence capital in terms of solidarity. Friendship isnot a relationship primarily based on altruism, it is rather an alliance based on mutual interestswhich due to the strength of the emotional relationship might occasionally produceexpressions of altruism.

The dominant life-condition parameter shaping confidential friendships

The data examined so far had confirmed that different life-conditions correspond to the diffe-rent chances of having friends. We tried to find out which cross-section of the inequalitystructure has the highest probability for the emergence of confidential friendships. If weconsider confidential friendships accompanying favorable life-conditions to be a form ofsocial capital, then it is also likely that people living under better conditions posses a signifi-cantly higher capital in general. As a consequence of the transferability of social capital peoplewith confidential friendship connections can posses more favorable capital benefits and have ahigher chance to acquire material and immaterial goods. (Bourdieu, P., 1980)

We looked for the parameters of the life-conditions (by means of logistic regression) thatmake the development of confidential friendship ties the most likely. In our model we appliedvariables symbolizing such life-condition extremes that indicated striking inequalities infriendships during the primary analysis. Our aim was to find out which of the followingfactors was the most determinant in having friends: (1) levels of education(variablename=E41), (2) having a partner in life(=E8), (3) activity on the labor market (0=jobless orretired, 1=active, receiving mother-care benefit, student)(AKTIVIT), (4) age(=KORCS2), (5)gender(=ENEME).

15

LOGISTIC REGRESSION (EUROPA 2000, N=1500, BKE)

Variables in the Equation

Variable B S.E. Wald df Sig R Exp (B)E8(1) ,4774 ,1254 14,4904 1 ,0001 ,0773 1,6118AKTIVIT(1) -,0850 ,1474 ,3326 1 ,5642 ,0000 ,9185E41 56,3213 6 ,0000 ,1457E41(1) 1,9043 ,3279 33,7187 1 ,0000 ,1233 6,7148E41(2) 1,3695 ,2628 27,1630 1 ,0000 ,1098 3,9335E41(3) ,8068 ,2449 10,8525 1 ,0010 ,0651 2,2406E41(4) ,8688 ,2587 11,2774 1 ,0008 ,0667 2,3840E41(5) ,7989 ,2324 11,8127 1 ,0006 ,0686 2,2230E41(6) ,3541 ,2234 2,5139 1 ,1128 ,0157 1,4250KORCS2 60,4422 5 ,0000 ,1554KORCS2(1) 1,5318 ,2387 41,1894 1 ,0000 ,1370 4,6267KORCS2(2) ,8878 ,2503 12,5853 1 ,0004 ,0712 2,4298KORCS2(3) ,4507 ,2319 3,7764 1 ,0520 ,0292 1,5694KORCS2(4) ,2474 ,2163 1,3078 1 ,2528 ,0000 1,2806KORCS2(5) ,3362 ,2065 2,6494 1 ,1036 ,0176 1,3996ENEME(1) ,0148 ,1169 ,0159 1 ,8996 ,0000 1,0149Constant -1,4962 ,2742 29,7717 1 ,0000

Variables: E21 1=having a friend, 0=notE8 1=having a partner in life, 0=notAKTIVIT 1= having activity on the labor market, 0= notE41 1= university graduate 7=incomplete primary.KORCS2 1= less than 30 years old, 6= 70 years old or moreENEME 1= man, 2= women

The model shows that the strong and significant life-condition parameter that makes thedevelopment of confidential friendship ties the most likely is the attained level of education(qualification=E41, sign.: 0.00, Exp. B=6.7148). So the extent of the inequalities in thechances of having friends among the considered life-condition dimensions was the highestbetween the different levels of education. Among the variables in our model age came secondon the list of life-condition determinants making it most likely to have extra-familiarconfidential friendships (sign.:00. KORCS2 Exp. B= 4.6267).

Examining the average values of the regression variable indicating probability (Pre3), wefound that people not completing their primary school studies have the lowest chance ofhaving a friend with 25%, while people with a university degree have the best chance with71%. The extent of the difference between the two extremes in the education cross-sectionwas almost the same as in the case of the two extremes in the age cross-section where peopleover the age of 70 have 31% probability while people younger than 29 have a 72% probabilityof having friends. The largest difference in probabilities is then between elderly people withlow educational level and young university graduates.

16

The analysis clearly showed that the level of education attained is the fundamental factor indetermining the probability of having an extra-familiar confidential relationship, that is afriend.

Social integration and strong, confidential relationships

Social integration in traditional societies is sustained almost exclusively by solidarity-networks deriving from family ties, and this is largely true for industrial societies as well. Weconsidered those relationships to be contributing to the social integration which therespondents claimed to be strong ties, people with whom they have a regular and intenserelationship. We consider integration sustaining strong relationships the ones which typicallydevelop between children and parents, spouses and confidential friends (Granovetter, M.S.1973). We supposed that regular resource-transfer is only attainable between those connectedby an intensive relationship and so we considered integrative from the above enlistedrelationships only the ones where the respondent lived in the same household or made visits atleast once a week or were in touch on the phone at least once a week. We think that only tiesas intense as that could provide the day to day solidarity giving the individual a sense ofsecurity, mutual emotional assistance and eventually social integration. We maintain thisclaim without denying that in cases of emergency the less intense strong relationships wouldalso be ‘mobilized’, but obviously these looser ties provide less support and consequently theyhave less effect on the individual’s sense of security, awareness of integration and subjectivelife quality.

It is a well-known fact that child-parent ties are strong in Hungarian families: the generationsliving in separate households usually meet on a weekly basis or stay in contact on the phone. 1out of 6 respondents over the age of 18 lives in the same household as his/her parents orparent (15.4%). Among those living in separate households, but their parents/parent is stillalive (38.5%) 3 out 4 meets the parents at least once a week (71.7% = 24.9% of the completesample), more than half of them (also) calls them on the phone at least once a week (57%=16% of the complete sample).

Our sample showed that almost 1 out of 2 people has direct or indirect intense contact withtheir parents (46.6%) which in most cases ensures social integration.

The intensive cooperation and cohesion of the nuclear family is further demonstrated by theother side of the parent-child relationship: the contact of parents with their children. Half ofthe respondents shares his/her household with their children (foster-children included)(48.7%) and almost half of the respondents (also) have a child living separately (43.2%). 2out of 3 parents having a child living separately claimed to meet them at least once a week(68.5% = 19.2% of the complete sample) and/or talk to them on the phone (65.9% = 16.9% ofthe complete sample).

Overall 3 out 4 of the respondents live in the same household as at least one of theirchildren or meet them and/or talk to them on the phone at least once a week (73.8%). (It isof course true that part of the children are still under-aged, and so the transfer of resources isusually one-way, but the social integration awareness is significantly supported by such ties aswell.)

The overwhelming majority of the sample is in intensive relationship with their parents/childrenthat is some member of the nuclear family, and so only 1 out of 10 respondents reported noweekly contact with either children or parents (10.6%), while 1 out of 3 of the respondents

17

has strong ties to both parents and children indicated by at least weekly contact frequency(31.0%).

Those with intensive family ties by no means refuse developing strong extra-familiarrelationships, that is friendships. In fact the opposite is true. While almost half of the respon-dents reporting strong ties to either parents or children have friends too (47.7%), and morethan half of those with intensive family ties in both directions have confidential, close friendsthey can rely on in cases of personal problems (53.4%), only 1 out of 3 respondents with nostrong family ties reported having confidential friends (39.4%). It is as if intensive, strongrelationships would attract each other, they multiply and show cumulative characteristics.The existence of intensive family contact increases the probability of the development offriendship ties.

Relationship deprivation and lack of integration

Of the four kinds of examined strong relationships (parent, child, spouse, friend) 3.7% of therespondents claimed to have none, 1 out of 5 reported only one (15.9%), 1 out of 3 reportedtwo (38.5%), 1 out of 4 reported three (27.9%), and a significant quantity reported to have allfour (13.9%).

Among those integrating with only one strong relationship (15.9%) the majority are incontact with their children (8.2%). The number of those integrating only with their spouse(2.7%) or friend (2.6%) or parent (2.3%) is low as compared with the above mentionedgroup. However it is a remarkable finding that among those whose social integration isrepresented with just one strong relationship, the probability that this relationship would be afriendship is very close to the other two relationships which connect the individual to thenuclear family. This fact suggests that in case of lack of nuclear family members in theenvironment of the respondents friendship becomes the most valuable strong relationship.

Among those with just one kind of intensive strong relationship their labor-market positionsignifies important differences. For the complete sample 1 out of 6 (15.9%) respondents hasjust one strong relationship, while in the cross-section of those outside the labor-market theirextent is much higher. 29.3% of pensioners, 49.9% of widowers, 22% of people living onsocial benefits and 22% of those taking part in rehabilitation programs have only one intensiverelationship, that is someone they can rely on permanently.

Those who had none of the four examined intensive strong relationships have low chance ofsocial integration through other channels (3.7%). They irreversibly lose access to resourcesprovided by the traditional solidarity-network and unless social institutions or civilgroups/organizations can effectively assist their integration they become ‘outcasts’ on theperipheries of society and become ‘deprived’ in terms of relationships. We tried to find outwhether among the classes with different life-conditions which are the ones to be found withhighest probability in this situation of complete contact deprivation and lack of social integration.

Age and the changes in life-cycle induce profound changes in the family-structure and in thequantity of people with strong ties, and so the probabilities of entering the group of thosedeprived of social relationships are also modified. In the age-group under 39 the extent ofpeople without strong ties to spouse, parents, children or friends - that is without hopes ofreceiving solidarity - is negligible (0.4%). In the age-group of 40-59 the extent of peoplewithout strong ties is still very low (1.8%). However over 60 the index sharply rises: 1 out of10 people in this group has no intensive relationship at all (9.4%).

18

Considering the educational hierarchy we see that in the cross-section of the least educatedthe extent of those without strong integrative relationship is high (7.2%). Above this levelrelationship deprivation is sharply reduced (vocational training: 2.0%, high school graduation:1.5%, university degree: 2.2%) Completion of primary school is a border-line in terms ofpossessing strong, socially integrating relationships, above this line there is no significantdifference between the categories. Relationship deprivation in the category of low-educated isprobably connected to the fact that people belonging to this class are mostly elderly, as thechanges in educational system almost rule out people under 55 not to have completed theirprimary school studies and so factors like losing relatives or the migration of children becomehighly relevant.

Another life-condition dimension that has a high tendency to implicate lack of relationships isunfavorable position on the labor-market. Exceedingly high numbers of people withoutintensive strong relationships belong to the category of those living on part-time jobs (andobviously predominantly unskilled) (20%) and also to elderly people living on dower (28%)but in general all the categories representing people inactive on the labor-market have anindex higher than average (pensioners: 6.9%, people in benefit: 5.6%)

In the group of respondents without intensive strong relationship the rate of those consideringthemselves happy - ‘very happy’ or ‘rather happy’ - was only half of the rate in the group ofthose with intensive strong relationships. It comes as no surprise that the index of thoseconsidering themselves ‘very unhappy’ was several times higher among those withoutintensive strong relationships than among those who have such relationships.

It is easy to see which life condition factor is the most dominant in determining whether aperson will have several intensive ‘strong’ relationships and extensive contact network asmeans of integrating into community: regression-analysis had also revealed that this factor isage. The younger a person the more likely to have intensive relationships in all four fieldsconsidered. Next on the list was educational level the one life condition dimension thatsynthesizes the effects of all the other dimensions of social inequalities.

Improvement in the probabilities of integration through the virtual ties of associations,organizations and religion

Sometimes it happens that people without the examined family or friendship ties considerthemselves happy, satisfied, socially integrated. One typical example is people without strongrelationship ties but with firm religious faith. And it does not in any way subtract from theirwell-being that transcendent and virtual relationship can provide only emotional resources.Similar emotions can arise in those who, though without strong relationships, belong to somesort of civil community, association, club. Such membership can also make people feel thatthey are not without ties, that they can integrate into society. Recently there is a new source ofthis emotional equilibrium though perhaps of more transient nature and that is Internet-friendship. However we have no statistically relevant information on people with such virtual ties.

Accepting religious faith and membership in some form of association further integrativerelationships, we modified the index that was previously based on four different kinds ofstrong relationships by adding these two extra ‘ties’. In this new index the number of thoseconsidered deprived was halved: a mere 1.5% of the sample remained without real or virtualties as opposed to the previously indicated 3.7%.

19

Social integration with six types of relationship (parent, child, spouse, friend, religion,association)

The extent of those with just one tie had also dropped by half but remained significant (7.5%).The extent of those integrating exclusively through either religious faith (1.9%) or friendship(0.9%) or membership in some association (0.2%) complete with those not being able toreport any ties at all, still only amounts to 4.5%. Thus we can conclude that in Hungary only1 out of 20 people live their lives without intensive family ties.

Our study has validated the thesis that family is the dominant and determinant integrativeforce in our society. It was also established that extra-familiar intensive strong ties provideintegrative channels for relatively few people.

The cumulative nature of integrative relationships was also shown by the fact that in the groupof people with strong family ties the probability of having intensive strong relationships isalso higher. Relationships seem to follow the pattern established by prestige, namely: the moreyou have the higher your chances are to further expand them (Mills, C.W., 1951). Socialcapital accumulating through intensive strong relationships follows the pattern of other typesof capital: it accumulates on the top of social ladder indicating the most favorable lifeconditions and at the other end of the hierarchy general deprivation is usually complementedby the lack of integrative intensive strong relationships.

20

Bibliography:

Albert, F. - Dávid, B. (1998): On friends. In: Kolosi T.-Tóth I. Gy.-Vukovich Gy. (ed.):Social Report

Allan, G. (1979): A sociology of Friendship and Kinship. London. Unwin

Allardt, E. (1998): Having, Loving, Being: An alternative to the Swedish Model of WelfareResearch. In: Nussbaum, M.-Sen, A.(eds.): The Quality of Life. Oxford UniversityPress

Allardt, E. (1975) : Dimensions of Welfare in a Comparative Scandinavian Study. Universityof Helsinki. Research Reports no. 9.

Andorka R. (1996): Where is Hungary Heading to. Antológia Kiadó, Lakitelek

Angelusz R. - Tardos R. (1988): On Some Peculiarities of Hungarian Connection Networks.Szociológia, no 2.

Angelusz R. - Tardos, R. (1998): The Realignment Tendencies of Connection Networks inthe 1990s, In: Kolosi T.-Tóth I.Gy.-Vukovich Gy.(ed.): Social Report

Bourdieu, P. (1980): La capital social. Actes de la Recherche en Sciences Sociales no. 31.

Bourdieu, P. (1978): Reproduction of Social Inequalities. Budapest, Gondolat.

Cseh-Szombathy L. (1994): Value Changes in Hungarian Families. INFO- Társadalomtudo-mány 30.

Dahrendorf, R. (1990): Reflections on the Revolution in Europe. London, Chatto andWindus.

Ferge, Zs. (2000): Inequalities on the Loose. Hilsher Rezső Szociálpolitika Egyesület,Budapest

Fischer, C. - Oliker, S. (1983): A research note on friendship, gender, and the life cycle.Social Forces, 62.

Fukuyama, F. (1999): The Great Disruption. Human Nature and the Reconstitution of SocialOrder. Free Press.

Granovetter, M.S. (1973): The strength of weak ties. AJS 81.

Laumann, E.O. (1973): Bonds of Pluralism. New York . Wiley

Lengyel Gy. (1990): Crisis, Idling, Enterprising Willingness. In: Andorka R.-Kolosi T.-Vukovich Gy.: Social Report

Pongrácz T-né (1994): Changes in Hungarian Families. INFO-Társadalomtudomány 30.

S. Molnár E. (1997) : Single Mothers. Demográfia 40.évf. 2-3

Sik, E. (1988): Beebred Forever. Budapest. Gondolat Kiadó

Somlai P. (1999) : Confusion of Multiplicity: Pluralization of Family Life Styles in Hungary.Demográfia 42. évf. 1-2

Szücs Z. (1999): Changes in Family Composition in the First Half of the 1990s. Demográfia42. évf. 1-2.

21

Tóth O. (1994): Attitudes Regarding Marriage, Divorce and Living Together. INFO- Társada-lomtudomány 30.

Utasi, Á. (1988): Relationships. Manuscript. JATE

Utasi, Á. (1999): Partners and Individualization. Demográfia. 42- évf. 1-2.

- (1990): Friendships. In: Andorka R.-Kolosi T.-Vukovich Gy.(eds): Social Report,TÁRKI, Budapest

- (1991): On Some Peculiarities of Interpersonal Relationships in Hungary. In: UtasiÁ.(szerk.) : Social Relationships. Gondolat 169-193.p.

- (1994): Upgrading of Interpersonal Relations and the Social Capital of the New Elitein Hungary. Paper at the International Social Network Conference, New Orleans

- (2000): Middle Class Relationships. Új Mandátum. Budapest

Utasi Á. - A. Gergely A. - Becskeházi, A. (1996): Small Town Elite. MTA PTI, Budapest

Weber, M. (1982): Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Budapest. Gondolat Kiadó

Weber, M. (1987): Economy and Society. Budapest. Közgazdasági és Jogi Könyvkiadó

Wellman, B. (1992): Men in Networks. Private Communities, Domestic Friendships. In:Nardi, P.(ed.): Men’s Friendships. Sage Publications

Wellman, B. - Wortley, S. (1990): Different Strokes from Different Folks: Community Tiesand Social Support. AJS Volume 96. No 3.

22

Strong ties (child, parent,partner,friend) by

education levels

Education level

University

College high educ

Grammar secondary

Vocational with matu

Vocational

Primary completed

Incomplete primary

None

Mea

n N

égyf

éle

erös

kap

csol

at

3,0

2,5

2,0

1,5

1,0

,5


gender

Gender

WomenMan

Mea

n N

égyf

éle

erös

kap

csol

at

2,5

2,4

2,3

2,2

23


settlement types

Settlement types

Budapestbig townsmall townvillage

Mea

n N

égyf

éle

erös

kap

csol

at2,6

2,5

2,4

2,3

2,2

2,1


age-groups

AGE-GROUP

70-X60-6950-5940-4930-39-29

Mea

n N

égyf

éle

erös

kap

csol

at

3,5

3,0

2,5

2,0

1,5

1,0

24


hapiness

Hapiness nowdays

Very unhappyUnhappyHappyVery happy nowdays

Mea

n N

égyf

éle

erös

kap

csol

at

2,8

2,6

2,4

2,2

2,0

1,8

1,6

1,4

1,2

Social integration with 6 ties (parent, child,

partner,friend, club, God) by hapiness

(EUROPA 2000, Hungary, N=1500)

Hapiness nowdays

Very unhappyUnhappyHappyVery happy nowdays

Mea

n H

ATIN

TEG

3,6

3,4

3,2

3,0

2,8

2,6

2,4

2,2

2,0

25


partner,friend, club, God) by education level


Education level

UniversityCollege high educ

Grammar secondaryVocational with matu

VocationalPrimary completed

Incomplete primaryNone

Mea

n H

ATIN

TEG

3,5

3,0

2,5

2,0

1,5


partner,friend, club, God) by age-groups


AGE-GROUP

70-X60-6950-5940-4930-39-29

Mea

n H

ATIN

TEG

4,0

3,5

3,0

2,5

2,0

26


partner,friend, club, God) by settlement types


Settlement types

Budapestbig townsmall townvillage

Mea

n H

ATIN

TEG

3,1

3,0

2,9

2,8

2,7


partner,friend, club, God) by gender


Gender

WomenMan

Mea

n H

ATIN

TEG

2,96

2,95

2,94

2,93

2,92

2,91

2,90

27

Ágnes Utasi - Ádám Páthy - Péter Hári

International trends of relationships in the last fifteen years

Australia, Austria, Great Britain, Hungary, USA(1986-2001)

In the present study we analyse the data of the social network research done in the frame ofISSP (International Social Survey Program); and we try to reveal those tendencies that have beenchanged in the character of social relationships during the fifteen years between the two surveys.

The two surveys were carried out in 1986 and 2003, and from both years we have data fromthe following 5 countries: Australia N=125/1352, Austria N=1027/1001, Hungary N=1747/1524,Great Britain N=1416/912, and the USA N =1470/1149. One goal of our survey is to mapwhether the difference between the political systems has a noticeable effect on the socialrelations of Hungarian society. In connection with this, it is important to know whether thesocial change in post-socialist countries have been unambiguously dominated by the effect ofopening to the West, or whether there might have been a Central European model with regardto the structure of relationships. On the one hand, it has a traditional basis, but there is also ajustification for the hypothesis that the social structure which evolved during the four decadesof the Soviet-type system has very strong effects on interpersonal relationships in many areasnowadays as well. Unfortunately, we cannot give detailed answer to the question, as in the1986 survey the only socialist country was Hungary.

In the first part of our study we examine the change in family relationships with the help ofdifferent markers of family status, household structure and contact. After that, we present thechange in the structure of friendship, and then, we review a few areas of microsocial solidarity.

The results of the 1986 survey showed that Hungary differs in many respects from the featureswhich determine interpersonal relationships in Western Europe and overseas (Utasi, 1990;1991). The radical social change beginning in the fifties had a great effect on social networks.This change dissolved traditional structures, increased greatly the grade of mobility, and inmany cases, it disrupted microcommunities with strong ties (Andorka, 1982). Primarily, theseprocesses had a harmful effect on families, but other forms of relationship also sufferedbecause of the obligate change of residence. From the sixties, with the relative improvementin income, the level of integration increased, and later the appearance of second economy alsohelped this procedure. According to the 1986 survey in which seven countries were included;the strongest family cohesion was in Hungary despite the contradictory procedure. Themarkers of contact were similar in the case of Italy, which is not included in present the study(Höllinger - Haller, 1990; Utasi, 1991).

The economic crisis and the increase in social inequality following the change of the regimestrengthened the tendencies of alienation (Andorka, 1995; Kopp - Skrabski, 2002). Abreastwith the appearance of unemployment and with the radically increased number of inactive andretired people, the importance of non-relative relationships has decreased, meanwhile the roleof strong family ties, that has been characteristic of Hungary, has remained important in thepast decade.

28

Important parameters of the sample

Before comparing the data of the 1986 and the 2001 survey, we should mention a fewdemographic features of the two samples, which we have to bear in mind during our analysis.

Considering the 1986 and 2001 survey, we have to highlight the ageing in the age compositionof the two samples. The fast ageing of Western societies is an evident fact, however distortionin the survey process may have occurred; therefore in comparing the data of the 1986 and the2001 survey, we always have to take into consideration the age difference of the samples.

Apart from the age distribution, we also have to consider the ratio of genders. We discover(Table 1), that in the samples of Great Britain and the USA, there have been significantchanges in this respect. Most probably it is subscribed to the difference of the sampling,because such a significant change in the distribution of genders, at best, may happen in case ofa war in a comparably short period of time.

At the same time - having considered these distortions - samples can be regarded as adequate;the distortions do not imperil the relevance of the trend analysis.

Table 1: Distribution of gender in the samples (N=6910 /1986/, 7355 /2001/)

Male FemaleGBR 1986 47,0% 53,0%

2001 40,4% 59,6%USA 1986 42,2% 57,8%

2001 48,3% 51,7%AUS 1986 47,9% 52,1%

2001 46,4% 53,6%AUT 1986 44,2% 55,8%

2001 40,2% 59,8%HUN 1986 44,1% 55,9%

2001 43,2% 56,8%

Changes in the structure of family status

In our analysis we first examined the ways in which the structure of family status has changedduring the fifteen years in the five examined countries (Table 2).

The most important change is the significant decrease in the rate of those who live inmarriage. Australia is the only exception, where this marker has not changed practically. Thedecrease in the rate of marriages coincide with our knowledge about developed Westernsocieties according to which the increase of civilisational standards and the increase ofindividualism result in a belated establishment of an own family on the one hand; and on theother hand, single life style is becoming more and more natural, marriage is ignored, andforms of partnership other than marriage prevail instead of marriage (Vaskovics, 1994; Cseh-Szombathy, 1991; Somlai, 1999).

Considering the rate of those who live in a marriage the changes in Hungary orient to thechanges of the examined Western countries; however, there is one significant difference:while the ratio of widows has decreased significantly in Austria, moderately in the USA and

29

in Australia, and increased slightly in Great Britain; in our country the ratio has increaseddramatically. The sample of the 2001 survey produces 17% of widows as opposed to the ratioof the 1986 survey, where this value was only 5%. It is important to mention, that among thefive examined countries Hungary has the second youngest sample, yet it producessignificantly the highest ratio of widows compared to Western countries. The cause for this,primarily, is the very high ratio of early mortality of Hungarian males in an internationalcomparison. This is supported by the fact, that in the 2001 sample only 5% of the males arewidows, while this number is 26% (!) for females.

Therefore, it can be concluded that in the given fifteen years in the examined Westerncountries the decrease in the ratio of marriages is because of the increasing ratio of those whodo not live in a marriage, so there is a kind of civilisational realignment. However, in Hungarythe decrease in the ratio of marriages is because of the increase in the ratio of widows. This isa rather pathologic phenomenon; the contradictory modernisation in the decades of the statesocialist system and the psychologically and physically destructive effect of the change of theregime may lie behind this phenomenon.

Table 2: The structure of family status in the examined countries (N=6910 /1986/, 7355 /2001/)

Married Widow Divorced Separated Not marriedGBR 1986 71,0% 8,9% 5,3% 0,0% 14,8%

2001 55,9% 11,3% 9,3% 3,2% 20,3%USA 1986 56,2% 11,6% 10,1% 4,1% 18,1%

2001 43,6% 8,7% 15,2% 3,9% 28,5%AUS 1986 68,3% 7,3% 4,3% 1,8% 18,3%

2001 70,6% 4,5% 7,1% 3,3% 14,5%AUT 1986 62,4% 10,4% 4,5% 0,6% 22,1%

2001 56,5% 1,7% 15,7% 7,2% 18,9%HUN 1986 71,0% 5,1% 4,1% 0,9% 18,9%

2001 51,9% 17,3% 10,6% 2,8% 17,4%

At the same time, not only the early mortality of Hungarian males causes the decreased num-ber of marriages; the modernisational realignment of Western societies also has an effect inHungary.

To be able to elicit the degree of expectable dynamics of belated or cancelled marriages in theexamined countries, we focused on the generation of thirties in the next step. This age grouphas evolved life style practices (however long the post adolescent phase may be, by this time itfinishes in most cases), divorce, and especially widowhood, is not as typical in this age groupas in older age groups.

In examining the family status of the 30-39 year-old age group, we have to face thespectacular decrease of marriages as compared to the data of the whole society (Table 3).During the fifteen years between the two surveys, in all examined countries the ratio of thosewho live in marriage has decreased significantly, while the number of those who do not live inmarriage has increased greatly. The greatest change was detected in Australian society (theratio of those living outside marriage has increased from 11% to 38.5%), the smallest changewas detected in Austria, where people more strongly bond to catholic traditions and traditionallife styles; however, the change was drastic in Austria as well.

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Table 3: The structure of family status among the generation of thirties (N=1725 /1986/, 1227 /2001/)

Married Widow Divorced Separated Not marriedGBR 1986 83,9% 0,0% 7,0% 0,0% 9,1%

2001 62,3% 0,9% 7,9% 5,6% 23,3%USA 1986 67,1% 0,8% 12,7% 4,8% 14,4%

2001 43,8% 1,7% 15,8% 5,0% 33,8%AUS 1986 82,8% 1,3% 3,8% 1,3% 10,9%

2001 51,9% 0,0% 6,7% 2,9% 38,5%AUT 1986 82,3% 0,6% 9,1% 0,0% 7,9%

2001 71,3% 1,3% 0,6% 6,4% 20,4%HUN 1986 85,30% 0,80% 5,40% 1,00% 7,50%

2001 65,90% 1,90% 8,90% 4,70% 18,70%

Hungary also oriented to the trends of the wealthier countries; in the examined period the ratioamong the age group of thirties living in a marriage has decreased from 85% to 66%, whilethe ratio of those who chose not to marry has increased from 7.5% to 19%. Hungary showedthe most traditional family model in 1986, while by 2001 Austria has forestalled Hungary inthe respect of the ratio of those thirties who live in a marriage.

It can also be said, although to a different degree, that the ratio of divorced and separatedpeople has increased, therefore not only belated or cancelled marriages contributed to thegradual erosion of family institutes, but divorce as well.

All in all, the most stable structure of family status among the five examined countries can bedetected in Austria, while the most spectacular changes occurred in the United States. Withrespect to the change of the significance of family institutions, the most relevant data comefrom the thirties age group. According to their data, in the societies of the USA and Australiathere has been a radical tendency to choose not to marry, which is also typical in Great Britain,although to a lesser extent. There is also a detectable change in the continental Austria, wherephilistine and Catholic traditions are stronger, but only to a lesser extent. Hungary, more orless, follows Western trends in the decrease of the ratio of those who live in a marriage;although, this can not only be subscribed to increased individualisation that followsmodernisation, but also, through the drastic increase in the ratio of widows, to unmatchedmodernisation of the decades of “existed socialism” (Hankiss - Füstös - Szakolczai, 1982),and to the social shock caused by the change of the regime (Andorka, 1996; Kopp - Skarbski -Szedmák, 1998).

Changes in the structure of households

In order to map the changes in microsocial solidarity we also examined the change in thenumber and consistence of those who live in one household; as households are important inmicrosocial assistance; and living in one apartment assumes significant dependence.

Among the five examined countries we have data concerning the consistence of householdonly from three countries, and these are Great Britain, the USA and Austria. During the fifteenyears between the two surveys, in all three countries the headcount of households hasdecreased significantly (Table 4).

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Table 4: Average headcount of households (person) (N=6910 /1986/, 7355 /2001/)

1986 2001GBR 3,05 2,34USA 2,78 2,32AUS No data 2,51AUT 3,22 2,68HUN No data 2,79

This phenomenon presumes a powerful modernisation procedure. It is easy to see that the percapita cost of large headcount households is cheaper; therefore maintaining small - andespecially single - households requires a more notable financial background, which can be ageneral capability in richer societies.

The data of the 2001 survey greatly mirror the modernisational differences of the countries.The average size of the households is the smallest in the USA, the following countries areAustralia and Great Britain, the fourth is Austria, and finally Hungary.

The detailed data of household content (Table 5) provide more information than the rawaverage headcount. The most typical household consists of two adults; the second most typicalconsists of a single adult. Although in Hungary these are the dominant types as well, there is ahigh ratio of households where three or four adults and possibly more children live together,moreover, the largest-sized households (five or more adults and possibly children) representthemselves in a large number, as opposed to the evanescent data of Western countriesrespectively. This may mean a specific survival of the tradition of large families in a relativelywide circle, which can be subscribed to economic pressure.

Table 5: The content of households (2001.) (N=6910 /1986/, 7355 /2001/)

AUS GBR USA AUT HUNSingle 18,8% 26,9% 32,6% 24,6% 16,4%1 adult, 1 child 1,0% 3,4% 2,6% 1,1% 2,5%1 adult, 2 children 1,3% 2,7% 2,5% 1,0% 0,6%1 adult, 3 or more children 0,8% 1,3% 1,2% 0,1% 0,4%2 adults 47,5% 28,8% 30,6% 46,3% 26,2%2 adults, 1 child 3,0% 6,4% 6,6% 0,0% 3,3%2 adults, 2 children 6,9% 8,7% 6,2% 0,0% 0,6%2 adults, 3 or more children 4,3% 5,8% 4,7% 0,0% 0,0%3 adults 6,2% 7,1% 6,9% 16,2% 13,0%3 adults + children 3,8% 3,7% 2,4% 0,0% 6,9%4 adults 3,0% 3,0% 1,8% 7,1% 7,5%4 adults + children 1,9% 1,0% 1,0% 0,0% 10,0%5 or more adults 1,3% 0,6% 0,4% 3,6% 5,4%5 or more adults + children 0,2% 0,4% 0,3% 0,0% 7,2%

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Contact within the family

We also tried to discover the effects of the change in family status and household structure onthe cohesion of families. We examined the trend of cohesion through the frequency of familycontact. Firstly, we examined the regularity of personal contact, and then we looked at theregularity of other types of contact requiring different tools (telephone, letter).

By family we mean the modern definition of the word, the nuclear family. Primarily, weexamine the relationship between parents and children and the relationship between siblings(Cseh-Szombathy, 1979).

Parent-child contact

With the help of the data gained from the surveys we tried to see how intensive the personalcontact is between the parents and their children, therefore we examined the subjects’regularity of contact with their mother.2 Independent of the detected tendencies ofmodernisation, from the data it seems that despite the decreasing number of marriages therehas been a significant growth in the ratio of those who maintain an intensive contact with theirmother, that is, they either live in the same household or they meet on a daily basis (severaltimes per week) (Table 6).

Table 6: Frequency of personal contact with the mother (N=4178 /1986/, 3720 /2001/)

Living in thesame household

Dailyfrequency

Weekly Monthly Once ortwice yearly

Scarcer

GBR 1986 5,1% 17,3% 34,2% 19,4% 16,9% 7,2%2001 9,8% 26,7% 22,0% 15,3% 17,3% 8,9%

USA 1986 5,1% 24,6% 20,6% 16,9% 17,9% 14,9%2001 8,9% 26,7% 18,7% 14,9% 16,8% 14,0%

AUS 1986 5,3% 12,8% 27,5% 18,1% 19,6% 16,6%2001 9,8% 14,9% 25,2% 18,6% 15,7% 15,8%

AUT 1986 13,0% 22,4% 26,1% 17,4% 15,9% 5,1%2001 19,4% 28,2% 18,7% 16,6% 11,2% 5,9%

HUN 1986 16,8% 35,2% 20,0% 16,4% 8,3% 3,4%2001 30,2% 29,7% 15,6% 11,4% 8,8% 4,4%

The seemingly surprising data can partly be explained. Individualisation does not necessarilymean becoming self-sufficient; moreover, in many cases it can be accompanied by theincreasing dependence on parents as the lengthening period of education and the intensivepresence of post-adolescent phase are practically characterized by the way that young peopledo not found their own family. They rather spend their “experimental period” in their parents’home, enjoying the partial care of their parents. During the fifteen years between the two

2 There are several methods to examine the regularity of parent-child contact, but because of the

parameters of the questionnaire we only examined the regularity of contact with the mother. Theo-retically, we could have examined the contact with the father, but in the 1986 survey there were dataonly about the physical distance from the mother, therefore it was practical to show contactregularity through the example of the mother.

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surveys, the ratio of those who live in the same household with their mother has increasedsignificantly in all countries and most probably it is due to this fact. The ratio of those wholive in the same household with their mother is the highest among the generation under thirty(about 50% in Hungary, Australia and Austria; 35 % in Great Britain, and 17% in the countrythat is considered to be the richest, the USA).

However, this explanation does not fully account for the fact that in all countries the ratio ofthose who keep a daily or more frequent than weekly contact with their mother has increasednoticeably. It seems that modernisation and individualisation accompanying modernisationdo not eliminate strong relations between family generations; in fact they strengthen familyrelationships, and they increase the frequency of contacts. Presumably, with the decreasingnumber of births, the revaluation of children and the more insistent attitudes of parentstowards their children due to the reduce in partnerships contribute to the strengthening offamily ties. Besides these, the circle of confidence is becoming more and more tight inatomised modern societies, which spectacularly strengthens the cohesion of family ties(Fukuyama, 1990; Utasi, 2002).

When comparing the examined countries we can see that living in the same apartment withparents is the least probable in the considerably rich USA and Australia. In these countriesthere is the highest ratio of those who do not see their mother for a year. At the same time, wecan not state unambiguously that this is solely due to the increase in wealth; we have to bearin mind another important factor: the size of the country. Regarding the five examinedcountries there is a coincidence between the economy and the size of the country. Therefore,we can not decide whether Americans and Australians do not meet their mother because offamily ties flattened by modernisation, wealth and individualisation, or whether they do notmeet their mother simply because of the great geographical distance between them. This latterstatement is supported by the results (Table 7) according to which the ratio of those who canreach their mother in more than three hours is the highest in the USA and in Australia, whilein the other three countries about the three fourths of subjects could reach their mother withinone hour.

Table 7: Duration of the journey to the mother’s home (N=3272 /1986/, 3324 /2001/)

Within anhour

Between one andthree hours

More than threehours

GBR 1986 76,8% 12,5% 10,7%2001 65,8% 17,6% 16,7%

USA 1986 63,8% 8,8% 27,4%2001 57,4% 13,1% 29,5%

AUS 1986 59,0% 10,0% 31,1%2001 57,9% 11,9% 30,1%

AUT 1986 73,3% 14,2% 12,5%2001 75,4% 14,2% 10,4%

HUN 1986 74,5% 15,1% 10,4%2001 78,5% 13,9% 7,7%

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In this respect Hungary resembles its Western neighbour. Although in 1986 the data of thetwo countries differed significantly; by 2001 the intensity of the contact with the mother hasbecome similar in Austria and in Hungary. The only noticeable difference can be experiencedbetween the ratio of those who live in the same apartment with their mother, which may be aconsequence of worse economic status of Hungarians, and the problems connected to gainingan own apartment.

Contact between siblings

The temporal comparison of the contact between siblings is difficult as in the 1986 surveyseparate questions were asked concerning the contact with brothers and sisters; while in the2001 survey siblings were treated all together. Moreover, there is no question concerning thephysical distance between siblings in the 2001 survey; therefore, it is impossible to followtemporal change. In all examined countries subjects had less siblings on average in 2001 thanin 1986 (Table 8).

Table 8: Average number of siblings (N=6910 /1986/, 7355 /2001/)

1986 2001AUS 2,66 2,44GBR 2,32 2,05USA 2,96 2,79AUT 2,20 2,09HUN 1,77 1,62

This fact is easily explained by the general demographic trends of the Western world and thedecreasing tendency in childbearing attitude. With regard to the fact that in most Westernsocieties the growth of population stopped (or almost stopped), the average number ofchildren dropped to 2-2.2, which ensures the reproductional level. In spite of this, we can seethat the subjects have more than two siblings on an average, which is explained by the largernumber of children among the older generations (In the data of the 2001 survey only theAmerican sample exceeded the average two siblings in the generation under thirty).

The “leading position” of the USA is not surprising if we know that the United States is theonly exception among the developed countries, where the population grows primarily becauseof Hispanics, and the great number of immigrants (Belsie, 2001).

Data well mirror the bad demographic situation in Hungary: The population has beendecreasing continuously since 1982, and the average number of siblings was only 1.62 in2001; Hungary significantly lags behind compared to the other countries. The examination ofthe personal contact of siblings show that the ratio of those who rarely see their siblings hasincreased; while the ratio of those who see their siblings at least once in a week has decreased.In Hungary we cannot detect such a change; the personal contact between siblings isinvariably intensive (Table 9).

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Table 9: The frequency of contact with the most frequently seen sibling (N=4297 /1986/, 5886 /2001/)

Living inthe same

household

Dailyfrequency


Scarcer

GBR 2001 2,5% 13,1% 21,7% 18,1% 27,4% 17,2%1986/B 4,2% 27,9% 22,9% 17,2% 17,0% 10,8%1986/S 3,8% 11,3% 19,6% 16,7% 23,8% 24,7%

USA 2001 3,1% 12,8% 12,4% 18,8% 24,9% 27,9%1986/B 2,6% 18,5% 16,8% 18,1% 23,8% 20,2%1986/S 2,4% 15,5% 13,9% 20,5% 21,0% 25,9%

AUS 2001 3,9% 6,8% 9,7% 18,1% 26,5% 35,0%1986/B 4,2% 6,8% 17,0% 22,9% 27,7% 21,5%1986/S 2,6% 7,3% 15,7% 17,3% 25,8% 31,2%

AUT 2001 7,9% 14,6% 12,6% 18,4% 24,5% 22,1%1986/B 4,7% 17,8% 20,4% 25,1% 22,4% 9,7%1986/S 6,3% 18,0% 16,0% 20,6% 22,0% 16,9%

HUN 2001 6,6% 28,9% 18,4% 22,7% 16,3% 7,2%1986/B 6,8% 28,3% 15,9% 21,1% 19,8% 8,1%1986/S 3,9% 28,7% 18,0% 24,4% 18,2% 6,9%

Therefore, it seems that modernisation and individualisation do not coincide with a decreasein the roles of close family, but on the contrary: people tend to maintain a more intensivecontact with their relatives.

In the decades of “existed socialism” relatives compensated the sourceless economic systemwith strong, mutual, instrumental and helping network of relations in Hungary. Obviously, agreat number of things have been maintained from that condition.

If we compare the examined Western countries with each other, we experience that in largercountries people tend to maintain a less personal contact with their siblings, while in smallercountries they meet more regularly. All in all, the least frequent contact is in Australia, and themost regular contact is in Hungary.

Non-personal contact

We have only examined the intensity of personal contact so far. However, there are numerousother ways of keeping contact; among which the letter is known for centuries, in recentdecades the telephone has spread rapidly, and during the 1990’s, mobile phones and electronicmail have also spread.

The revolutional change in telecommunication obviously had an effect on social relations aswell. Although nowadays we are more and more concerned about the negative effects ofmodern telecommunication; there is extensive scientific research about “mobile addiction” asa psychological disease (Buda, 2001), yet these newly invented communicational toolsprovide an opportunity of contact for those who cannot keep personal contacts.

Between 1986 and 2001 the non-personal contact with the mother has increased almosteverywhere (Table 10).

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Table 10: The frequency of non-personal contact with the mother (N=3251 /1986/, 3077 /2001/)

Dailyfrequency


Scarcer

GBR 1986 22,8% 43,0% 13,9% 5,4% 14,8%2001 43,9% 35,1% 10,4% 4,3% 6,3%

USA 1986 40,9% 26,7% 19,9% 4,6% 7,8%2001 44,5% 27,3% 13,1% 5,3% 9,7%

AUS 1986 28,3% 35,5% 21,1% 9,2% 6,0%2001 32,8% 37,5% 19,0% 7,9% 2,8%

AUT 1986 40,6% 24,6% 16,1% 6,8% 11,9%2001 45,6% 22,3% 13,3% 5,0% 13,8%

HUN 1986 10,7% 8,0% 9,8% 4,6% 66,8%2001 39,4% 18,4% 9,7% 2,6% 29,8%

There hasn’t been a change in the number of letters, telephones, e-mails in the USA, pre-sumably because of the early permeation of the most developed telecommunicational tools,which made these kinds of contact available. At the same time, it may be surprising that thetwo countries with the biggest territory do not use telecommunication to an extent as thosesmaller countries, like Austria, where the possibility of personal contact is higher.

During the fifteen years between the two surveys the regularity of non-personal contact hasincreased in Hungary to the greatest extent. Presumably, this is because of the fast permeationof telecommunicational tools after the change of the regime. While in 1986 only a small ratioof households had telephones; in the 1990’s mobile phones and the Internet appeared. Amongthe two most state of the art telecommunicational tools, the Internet has not become spectacu-larly popular - the problem is that the number of Internet users do not reach the number ofInternet users in neighbouring countries, not to mention Western Europe (Rét, 2004).However, the permeation of mobile phones, thanks to our geographical situation, was veryfast: nowadays Hungary is among the best-equipped countries concerning mobile phones(IHM, 2004).

At the same time, despite the rapid growth, Hungary is still the last among the five examinedcountries. The ratio of those who do not use modern technologies for maintaining contact isthe highest in our country. The reasons for this may be numerous. One reason may be,especially in the case of aged mothers/parents, that older generations do not accept the newtools of technology as easily as younger generations. There may also be a financial cause or itmay be fact that because of regular personal contact there is no need for telephone contact.

This latter hypothesis was tested by a correlation analysis (Table 11).Table 11: Pearson’s correlation between the personal and non-personal contact with the mother

AUS GBR USA AUT HUNPearson’s correlation 0,594 0,541 ,538 ,263 ,011Significance 0,000 ,000 ,000 ,000 ,803N 495 1022 678 377 494

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With the exception of Hungary there is a strong positive correspondence between the personaland non-personal contact. It is not that those who can’t maintain personal contact usetelephones; it is more like those who maintain contact, maintain contact both personally andnon-personally, while those who do not maintain contact, do not maintain contact at all. InHungary there has been no sign of this relationship, neither has been a sign of its contrary, sowe cannot say that non-personal contact replaces personal contact in Hungary.

According to our data there is a strong relationship between the subjects’ age and thefrequency of non-personal contact. Telephone communication is primarily used by youngpeople - they use the tools of the information society more naturally.

The question may arise whether the use of telecommunicational tools will lead to the atrophyof personal contact, whether people will meet less when they can use telephones and e-mails.Our data unambiguously dissolve these fears, as we already have stated: with the growth in thefrequency of non-personal contact the frequency of personal contact has increased as well;people in all examined countries meet more regularly with their close relatives as fifteenyears ago. Moreover, the correlation mentioned above features opposing tendencies: it seemsthat contact through telecommunicational tools strengthens personal contact; therefore, ithelps to draw family ties tighter and to increase cohesion.

Friendships

We have to be careful when examining friendships. It is upon the subjective choice of thepeople included in the survey whether they regard those people with whom they keep contactas friends or not. In this way, certain people may sign their relationships with similarconfidence as friendship, while others may not (Wellman, 1983; 1992). As a consequence, itis very hard to draw conclusions about the depth of friendships in the frame of a quantitativesurvey; therefore, according to our data we may examine only the milieu of choosing friendsand the distribution of the number of friends along different categories.

Average number of friends

Because of specific features of the data gathering the exact averages cannot be calculated. Inmany of the examined countries there is no differentiation in the number of friends above acertain value. Therefore, in calculating the average we used the lowest top limit (=8, GreatBritain, 1986) for the entire sample.

The average number in all examined countries has increased during the years between thetwo surveys, and the ranking of countries has been changed slightly. In 2001 this marker washigher in the case of Austria, while earlier the first in the rank was Great Britain. According toboth of the surveys the lowest number of friends was in Hungary, and the post-hoc testsexamining the relative difference between the averages show no approaching to the othercountries examined either. We cannot speak about a significant approach to Western societiesconcerning the growth in the number of friends in Hungary. Visibly, the structures solidifiedduring the decades of the socialist regime function as a strong basis and global trends cannotprevail to an extent to level up Hungarian society.

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People who do not have friends

The most telling index in connection with friendships is the ratio of those who do not markany friends at all. In both surveys the highest ratio of those who did not have any friends wasin Hungary. It is true, however, that the number has decreased as in the case of the otherexamined countries; yet the ratio is still high: while one fourth of Hungarians do not have anyfriends at all, this ratio is below one tenth in every other examined country.

There is a remarkable decrease in the ratio of those who do not have any friends in Austria;the 2001 ratio has dropped to one third of the 1986 survey. This trend is in harmony with theother trend concerning the number of friends, that is, during the fifteen years between the twosurveys there has been a strong expansion concerning friendships in Austrian society. In thecase of the other countries the degree of decrease more or less corresponds to the dynamics ofthe Hungarian data (Table 12).

Table 12: Do you have friends? (N=6799 /1986/, 7118 /2001/)

1986 2001no yes no yes

AUS 6,7% 93,3% 6,0% 94,0%GBR 13,7% 86,3% 8,9% 91,1%USA 5,3% 94,7% 4,0% 96,0%AUT 24,9% 75,1% 7,3% 92,3%HUN 28,6% 71,4% 23,5% 76,5%

In all examined countries the ratio of those who do not have any friends has decreased duringthe passed fifteen years, although there is no change in the position of Hungary and in therelative difference between the ratios.

Examining the data according to gender differences, it can be concluded that in all countries,except for Hungary, the ratio of males who do not have any friends is higher. As opposed tothe trends of other countries, earlier surveys proved that in Hungary the ratio of females whodo not have any friends is higher, actually significantly higher, than the ratio of males (Utasi,1990; Albert - Dávid, 1998). However, the significant difference between genders in the 1986survey has decreased sharply by 2001. In the case of the other examined countries this ratiohas remained more or less the same (Table 13).

Table 13: Do you have friends? Distribution according to gender (N=6799 /1986/, 7118 /2001/)

1986 2001no yes no yes

Males Australia 7,9% 92,1% 7,0% 93,0%Great Britain 15,2% 84,8% 9,6% 90,4%United States 6,1% 93,9% 4,4% 95,6%Austria 24,0% 76,0% 7,8% 92,2%Hungary 21,1% 78,9% 21,6% 78,4%

Females Australia 5,5% 94,5% 5,2% 94,8%Great Britain 12,4% 87,6% 8,3% 91,7%United States 4,6% 95,4% 3,6% 96,4%Austria 25,6% 74,4% 6,9% 93,1%Hungary 34,5% 65,5% 25,0% 75,0%

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The data of different age groups also show the general decrease of those who do not have anyfriends (Table 14).

Table 14: Do you have friends? (according to age-groups) (N=6799 /1986/, 718 /2001/)

1986 2001No Yes No Yes

15-24 AUS 6.8% 93.2% 1.9% 98.1%GBR 1.9% 98.1% 3.9% 96.1%USA 2.2% 97.8% 3.4% 96.6%AUT 7.2% 92.8% 0,0% 100.0%HUN 5.7% 94.3% 4.4% 95.6%

25-34 AUS 11.5% 88.5% 7.8% 92.2%GBR 4.8% 95.2% 4.3% 95.7%USA 10.8% 89.2% 4.6% 95.4%AUT 2.4% 97.6% 1.7% 98.3%HUN 14.6% 85.4% 12.0% 88.0%





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The only exception is the USA where in the case of young and middle aged generations thereis a slight increase in the ratios, but because of the low element numbers we cannot draw anunambiguous conclusion. Both in 1986 and in 2001 most of the Americans had friends (Table 12).

It is a general tendency that the ratio of those who do not have any friends increases withageing; the sharpest fracture is experienced above the age of 55, most probably because oftheir exclusion from the employment market. Among elderly age groups the ratio of thosewho do not have any friends is very high in Hungary (39.3 % of people above 65 do not haveany friends) (Table 14). The reasons for this may be the difference in the age limit for pension,lower civilisational level, lower average age, and the higher mortality rate of elderly males.

Milieu of choosing friends

The survey also examined the “source” of friends (employment, neighbours, other).

There is a great rearrangement with regard to friends coming from employment acquaintance.While in 1986 more than half of the respondents in all examined countries did not mentionfriends among colleagues, this ratio has decreased significantly by 2001. At the same time, inHungary most friendships came from employment in 1986, therefore the ratio practicallyremained the same. The structural economic change of the change of the regime can be sensedin this “motionless state”. With the tightening of the employment market, rivalry betweencolleagues has increased, and friendship contact between them has become scarcer (Sik,1988). Economic working communities, which gave the fundamental organisation of thesecond economy of the eighties and presumed a confidential colleague relationship, alsoclosed down3. Those excluded from the employment market can replace their lostrelationships only with difficulties, as civil social activity in our country is very low, and it isprimarily a characteristic of higher social classes (Angelusz - Tardos, 1998).

The ratio of friends coming from neighbourhood relationships, just as the ratio of friendscoming from colleagues, has increased greatly. According to the data of the 1986 survey theHungarian ratio was near to the ratio of other countries, but, by 2001 because of the slightgrowth, there has been a great lagging behind concerning the number of friends who comefrom a neighbourhood relationships: more than half of Hungarians do not have friends fromtheir neighbourhood, while this ratio has an average of one third in other countries. If wecompare the distribution according to the type of settlements, we see that in an urban areapeople more likely have friends from their neighbourhood. The only exceptions are the USA andGreat Britain, where suburban areas show higher values than downtown areas. The probable causefor this is the high degree of suburbanisation and middle class life style in the USA connected tothis. This life style values the importance of neighbourhood communities (Clapson, 2003).

Hungary shows a special picture in the case of friends coming from other sources also. In bothsurveys the highest ratio of friends coming from other sources can be found in the USA and inAustralia; while the ratio is far the lowest in Hungary. According to the 2001 data, less than60% of Hungarian respondents marked other friends; while the ratio was between 75% and85% in other countries. This difference can be explained by the low civil social and communalactivity in Hungary and this is clearly seen from the relevant data of the survey (communalactivity and the number of other friends show a relatively strong correlation in the 2001 data).

3 Even in 1988, more than 300 000 people were interested in different forms of associations (GMK,

VMGK, professional groups) as a part-time job; in the middle of the decade the number was almostthe double. The average headcount of the associations was 6-7 people (Laky - Neumann, 1990).

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The choice of friends according to genders shows an interesting picture (Table 15).Table 15: Gender heterogeneity in choosing friends (N=6799 /1986/, 7118 /2001/)

Gender of best friend1986 2001

Male Female Male FemaleMale AUS 81,7% 18,3% 85,1% 14,9%

GBR 84,5% 15,5% 75,2% 24,8%USA 87,8% 12,2% 79,3% 20,7%AUT 82,1% 17,9% 83,8% 16,2%HUN 98,7% 1,3% 90,6% 9,4%

Female AUS 10,1% 89,9% 7,8% 92,2%GBR 6,7% 93,3% 6,7% 93,3%USA 9,6% 90,4% 12,8% 87,2%AUT 13,1% 86,9% 12,2% 87,8%HUN 13,3% 86,7% 10,0% 90,0%

In both surveys concerning the whole sample females prefer to choose friends from their owngender, but in 1986 it was different in Hungary. Although by 2001 gender heterogeneitystrengthened in the case of males as well; this lags behind the heterogeneity experienced inother countries.

Contact with friends

The most intensive contact between friends is experienced in Hungary, and this has notchanged significantly during the fifteen years between the two surveys; it has changed onlyslightly. The number of those who meet with their friends daily has decreased slightly, whilethe number of those who meet with their closest friends several times a week has grownmoderately. During the fifteen years between the two surveys the intensity of contact hasdecreased in all other examined countries; weekly contact has become dominant. Thefrequency of friendship contact is the lowest in the USA and in Australia, as the ratio of thosewho live the farest from their best friend is the largest in these two countries.

Contacts other than personal contact are largely differentiated by the effect of differentpermeation of telecommunicational tools in the given countries. Development is the mostvisible in Hungary: while in 1986 65.8% of respondents did not keep contact with the help ofa communicational tool with their friends, this value has decreased to 35.8% by 2001.

In the other four countries the intensity of personal contact and the contact with the help of atool show a strong positive correlation. In this way these two modes of contact supplementand strengthen each other. The strengthening effect of the two forms of contact is the mostvisible in the case of Australia. Therefore, it is not characteristic that people replace lesser per-sonal contact coming from great physical distance with contact supported by communicationaltools. In Hungary, the ratio of telephone and letter contact has decreased; probably because ofthe more frequent daily personal contact; however, the belated permeation of communicatio-nal tools may also have an effect on this value, although to a much lesser extent than in the1986 survey.

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Microsocial solidarity and assistance

Both the 1986 and 2001 survey examining the functioning of the social network askedquestions about everyday areas of assistance. It asked about the persons from whom therespondents would ask for help, assistance consolation primarily in case of a minor illness,major financial need or an emotional crisis.

All in all, the results of the two surveys show a great steadiness and similarity: excludingmajor financial loans, there is no such significant rearrangement, as we experienced in thecase of examining family and friendship relationships.

Assistance in case of minor illness

Overwhelming majority of the respondents would ask for a help from their relatives in case ofa minor illness (1986: 90%, 2001: 88%). The ratio of those who would ask for help from theirspouse has decreased in all countries; probably due to the fact that the ratio of those who livewithout a partner has increased. It may be contradictory that the lowest ratio of those whowould ask for help from their spouse in a need was the lowest in Hungary even in 1986(53%), while the ratio of those who live in a marriage was outstandingly high (71%) here. In2001; however, the ratio of those who would ask for help from their spouse in case of anillness has decreased radically. It is noticeable that in Hungary the ratio of those who wouldask for help from their parents in case of a minor illness was higher in 1986, than in othercountries. This may be explained by the fact that in 1986 the ratio of multigenerational householdswas higher in our country; while it was not characteristic of the other examined countries.

According to the second survey, with the decreasing ratio of those who would ask for helpfrom their spouse and their parents, the ratio of those who would ask for help from theirchildren has increased in the sample of Hungary, Austria and Great Britain. The ratio of thosewho would ask for help from their friends in case of a minor illness is the highest in the USA(10.3% and 9.9% respectively). The ratio of those who would ask for help outside family andfriendship relations is insignificant; with the exception of Austria, the ratio of those whocannot or do not ask for help from anybody in case of a minor illness has increasedeverywhere (Table 16).

Table 16: Who would you call in case of a minor illness? (N=6808 /1986/, 7123 /2001/)

No-one Spouse Parents Children Siblings Otherrelatives

Friends Neigh-bours

Others

Australia 1986 0,8% 64,0% 9,3% 11,0% 2,8% 1,5% 7,3% 2,5% 0,6%2001 2,5% 70,4% 6,7% 9,1% 2,4% 1,0% 6,1% 1,5% 0,5%

Great Britain 1986 0,9% 64,0% 13,1% 11,3% 2,8% 1,0% 3,5% 2,6% 0,8%2001 1,5% 52,6% 13,2% 14,5% 6,7% 1,9% 5,2% 3,0% 1,4%

United States 1986 0,9% 52,3% 10,8% 12,9% 6,0% 2,6% 10,3% 2,4% 1,7%2001 2,5% 47,9% 14,3% 11,5% 6,9% 2,7% 9,9% 2,2% 2,2%

Austria 1986 0,8% 55,6% 16,1% 12,5% 3,3% 3,7% 4,1% 2,7% 1,3%2001 0,5% 51,3% 11,3% 15,6% 4,0% 4,7% 7,0% 3,4% 2,3%

Hungary 1986 0,5% 53,0% 23,0% 10,1% 4,1% 2,8% 2,4% 3,7% 0,4%2001 1,9% 44,0% 15,7% 22,0% 4,2% 4,5% 3,1% 2,6% 2,0%

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Major financial loan

Among the examined areas of everyday solidarity and assistance, the most spectacular changeis in the ratio of those who do not ask for a major loan in case of financial need (Table 17).

Table 17: Whom would you turn to for a financial loan? (N=6788 /1986/, 7100 /2001/)

No-one

Spouse Parents Children Sib-lings

Otherrelatives

Friends Neigh-bours

Others

Australia 1986 4,2% 21,9% 15,7% 4,9% 4,6% 2,8% 2,8% 0,1% 43,2%2001 5,6% 38,8% 12,0% 8,6% 4,5% 1,7% 2,4% 0,2% 26,4%

GreatBritain

1986 6,6% 22,3% 16,5% 6,4% 3,9% 2,7% 1,6% 0,1% 39,8%

2001 12,5% 18,9% 17,1% 7,1% 5,9% 2,1% 2,0% 0,1% 34,3%UnitedStates

1986 3,8% 13,6% 20,3% 5,6% 7,2% 4,6% 4,3% 0,0% 40,5%

2001 11,9% 12,7% 31,0% 5,7% 10,7% 6,4% 5,4% 0,0% 16,2%Austria 1986 10,7% 19,1% 15,5% 6,9% 4,1% 2,4% 2,5% 0,1% 38,9%

2001 13,1% 19,3% 15,3% 11,1% 4,1% 2,4% 3,0% 0,1% 31,6%Hungary 1986 3,9% 2,5% 26,1% 5,7% 6,0% 5,9% 3,7% 1,4% 44,7%

2001 20,8% 3,9% 14,8% 15,5% 7,0% 7,5% 4,7% 0,8% 24,9%

The ratio of those who do not or cannot hope for a loan has increased in all examined count-ries during the fifteen years between the two surveys, which probably signals the declension ofinternational economic trends.

The most drastic change is experienced in Hungary, where the ratio of those who do not hopefor a loan is five times higher in 2001 than in 1986. A unanimous cause for this is that lesspeople are eligible for bank loans as earlier, when whole scale employment meant “cover” forthe banks. In Hungary the ratio of those who hope for a bank loan has decreased to the half.

The ratio of those who would ask for loan from their spouse is telling; in Hungary this ratiowas significantly less than in other examined countries. This shows that in our country thegrade of financial independence in marriage is lower than in economically stronger WesternEuropean and transoceanic countries and in the years following the change of the regime thisratio has not changed significantly. In most countries the ratio of those who would ask for aloan from their children has increased. This growth of ratio is particularly high in our country.

The ratio of parents providing financial help for their children was outstandingly high in theUnited States, and this ratio even increased. As opposed to this, in every other country thisratio has decreased gradually, while in Hungary sharply. In case of the Hungarian respondentsthe reduction of financial resources can be traced back to two causes: The reduction in familyfinancial help is caused by worse financial conditions; while the decrease in the ratio of thosewho hope for a financial help from another relationship or institution is caused by the generalloss of confidence.

Mental and emotional assistance

As compared to 1986 the ratio of those who would ask for emotional help from their spousehas decreased also. At the same time, the ratio of those who would ask for emotional helpfrom their children has increased; while the ratio of those who would contact their parents in asimilar situation has decreased almost everywhere. This phenomenon on the one hand is

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caused by the ageing of the societies; on the other hand the increasing ratio of those who donot live with a partner.

The role of friends as emotional help has strengthened in the USA, Great Britain and Australia.

Apart from relatives and friends; the general practitioner has the most significant roles;especially in Great Britain (7.2 % in 2001). The ratio of those who would contact apsychologist is very low, it reaches 1% only in the United States. Those providing mental andemotional help are mainly relatives. Institutional help is rarely seen as an alternativesolution.

When comparing temporal data of the Hungarian sample, the change in the ratio of those whowould ask for any emotional help (Table 18) also shows a general loss of confidence. Theratio of those who would not ask for any emotional help in case of mental need or sadnesswas outstandingly high earlier and this ratio has increased further in 2001 (to 10.5%).

Table 18: Whom would you ask for help in case of mental and emotional crisis, sadness?(N=6807 /1986/, 7099 /2001/)

No-one

Spouse Pa-rents

Child-ren

Sib-lings

Otherrelatives

Friends Neigh-bours

Others

Australia 1986 3,9% 51,1% 5,1% 6,7% 3,7% 1,5% 22,2% 0,5% 5,4%2001 3,8% 52,4% 4,0% 8,3% 5,0% 1,0% 21,5% 0,2% 3,9%

GreatBritain

1986 2,7% 52,4% 7,2% 9,2% 6,5% 0,9% 15,7% 0,5% 4,9%

2001 1,5% 42,6% 7,7% 9,3% 8,8% 1,4% 18,9% 0,6% 9,2%UnitedStates

1986 2,4% 40,2% 6,2% 6,6% 7,9% 1,7% 26,8% 0,8% 7,4%

2001 3,9% 31,9% 10,8% 6,0% 8,9% 2,1% 30,6% 0,4% 5,4%Austria 1986 8,2% 49,8% 7,8% 8,1% 5,3% 1,8% 15,0% 1,0% 3,0%

2001 5,2% 43,4% 5,6% 11,2% 5,8% 2,3% 20,1% 1,8% 4,7%Hungary 1986 7,5% 43,0% 10,6% 6,6% 5,9% 1,7% 18,9% 2,4% 3,4%

2001 10,5% 40,7% 6,3% 12,6% 5,6% 2,8% 14,6% 3,4% 3,6%

In Hungary the ratio of those who would ask for emotional help from their spouse/partner orparents has decreased, while the ratio of those who would ask for emotional help from theirchildren has increased significantly. All in all, two thirds of the Hungarian respondents wouldask for emotional help primarily from their relatives in case of sadness. Apart from familymembers the ratio of those who trust friends is considerably important; although, it is lowerthan in the other examined countries; and during the years between the two surveys itdecreased further.

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Conclusion

In our study we tried to present the spectacular changes of fifteen years in the structure ofinterpersonal relationships. We particularly concentrated on the control of the questionwhether Hungarian “specialities” characteristic of earlier functioning of relationships hasremained, or has disappeared with the economic rearrangement after the change of the regime(Angelusz - Tardos, 1988; Utasi, 1991). All in all; we can conclude that despite thestrengthening trends of individualisation caused by modernisation and atomisation in societies(or maybe because of them?) there is a growth in the intensity of both family and friendshiprelationships; tight relations of confidence are appraised spectacularly and are becoming moreintensive.

In examining the changes of the family structure, the most notable change is the decrease inthe ratio of those who do not live in marriage, which is largely caused by the tendencies ofsocial modernisation. As compared to the earlier survey, the ratio of other forms of livingtogether, and the ratio of people living alone have increased. As a new phenomenon, singlelife style postponing marriage is spreading. The change in the household structure and thepluralisation of partnerships mainly affected richer countries, and in these countries areduction in the size of the household is experienced as well. In Hungary, the size of thehousehold is even bigger, and this difference is mainly because of the greater economic need,which is caused by the lower level of modern wealth as compared to other countries.

When examining the contact between family members it is clearly seen that cohesion betweenthe generations is strengthening. Both personal and tool-assisted contacts became moreintensive. The frequency of the contact with the mother/parents has increased in particular, butthe intensity of sibling contact has not decreased either.

The ratio of those who have friends has increased during the fifteen years between the twosurveys.

Microsocial solidarity and everyday assistance has been rearranged a little as compared to thedata of the earlier survey; we assume that this is also caused by the processes ofmodernisation. Primarily, family members and relatives help to solve everyday problems, andthis has not changed, although the ratio of those counting on their spouse has decreased, andthe ratio of those counting on their children has increased. In case of a mental and emotionalneed the helping role of the spouse has decreased significantly; while in certain countries therole of friends, in other countries the role of children have been appraised. We can experiencea general loss of confidence in most examined countries; this might be a cause for the growthin the ratio of those who do not count on help in case of a minor illness, and those who do notask for a loan in financial need. The ratio of those who do not trust any assistance is far thehighest in Hungary among the five examined countries, which might be because of excessivedistrust and insecure existence following the change of the regime.

If we want to answer the question, how the functioning of relationships has changed inHungary as compared to other countries, we can say that there is approximation in certainareas. However, it is more characteristic that differences and Hungarian specialities remainand are conserved.

The intensity of family contact is unchangeably stronger in Hungary than in the otherexamined countries. The ratio of those who have friends or other confident relationshipsoutside the family is unchangeably the lowest. However the milieu of choosing friends haschanged during the years. While the ratio of those who choose their friends from theircolleagues has increased in every country, this ratio has remained the same in Hungary. Most

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probably this is because of the rearrangement of the Hungarian employment market. In 1986,most friendships were formed from colleagues in Hungary. The stagnation in the ratio ofcolleague friends signs the radical decrease of active employees and also the increasing rivalryamong colleagues.

Those who cannot count on any help in case of an emotional crisis has remained the highest inHungary, moreover this ratio has even increased. According to the data of the earlier survey;parents provided important help in case of an emotional crisis; however, the data of the 2001show that especially the ratio of those counting on their children has increased.

Therefore, we experience that the structure of social relationships in many respects hasresisted rapid changes. However, we cannot ignore the significant effects of economicsituation and modernisation on social networks. The economic crisis following the change ofregime, especially the increased insecurity of existence coming with the decrease in generalemployment and the appearance of unemployment; and the negative effects of the moreintensive stress on the health of the society together weakened interpersonal relationshipsoutside close relationships. With this they also weakened social cohesion, while the joining ofgenerations has necessarily remained, moreover it has been strengthened.

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